Joe Lopez has been in Alexander Volkanovski’s corner for some extraordinary nights.
But seeing Volkanovski and Colby Thicknesse win on the same UFC card – having coached both from day one – was something special.
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The Freestyle MMA head coach has revealed why UFC 333 meant so much to him, while lifting the lid on the illness Volk carried into his stunning second-round victory.
Despite a sore throat and some difficulty breathing in the lead-up, the 38-year-old finished previously undefeated Russian bogeyman Movsar Evloev to add another remarkable win to his career.
Asked how the occasion compared with Volk’s memorable victory over Chad Mendes in 2018, which Lopez had previously singled out as his favourite, the coach barely hesitated.
“A fair bit more special than that one,” Lopez told Fox Sports Australia.
“This one meant more. Mainly because Colby was on the card. And just the way Volk did it.
“They both started with me and they both fought on the same show together.”
Lopez admits he doesn’t always stop to appreciate how far they’ve come since Volkanovski first walked into his gym in 2011.
This time, he made a point of it.
And Thicknesse helped ensure his coach had a moment to savour before either Aussie stepped into the Octagon.
“I wanted one of Colby’s teammates to walk him out to the ceremonial weigh ins,” Lopez said.
“He said, ‘No, I want you to walk me out’ and that was special.
“He started with me when he was 13 years old.
“Now he’s a young man, and to see him develop and to grow with Volk … they’re both so special to me.
“A lot of the time I just don’t take it in, but this time I really wanted to appreciate and soak it all in.”
The occasion also came with a complication for his world champ.
Volk had been getting sick for a couple of days, with Lopez revealing several members of the group staying in a villa had also fallen ill.
But Lopez had little doubt his champion would get through it.
“I wasn’t really that worried. I just know Volk, and I’ve seen him train,” he said.
“It was more a headcold than anything else.
“He had a pretty croaky throat, and he had a little bit of trouble breathing.
“Volk is a special athlete. We just knew he’d get through.”
They also believed he could finish Evloev early.
While much of the discussion centred on the Russian’s wrestling, the champ had been working on something for Evloev.
His right hand.
That meant accepting a little more danger than usual.
“He fought at a closer distance than what he normally does,” Lopez said.
“He took a bit more of a risk this time and put himself into that firing line because he wanted to prove that he could outwrestle this guy.
“And also he wanted to knock the guy out and just show everyone he’s still got knockout power.”
The plan was to trap Evloev near the fence and put him away.
“Once he got his distance, that was it,” Lopez said.
“That was sort of the game plan. We’re going to put him up near the cage and finish him there … because they’ve got nowhere to run.
“We’d been working on that right hand.”
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Between rounds, Volkanovski had a question for his corner.
“Did I win that round?”
Lopez told him he had, then asked for more head movement and work to the body.
The finish arrived in the second – ahead of even his coach’s prediction.
“I was planning the third round,” Lopez said.
“That’s the one I thought we were getting.
“But he finished him at the end of the second, which was even better. So we were all just ecstatic.”
Just how good does Volk look?
As good as the man who beat Max Holloway three times? Who toppled the great Jose Aldo, stopped Chad Mendes and pushed Islam Makhachev to the brink?
Lopez reckons he’s right back at his very best.
“He looks amazing. It’s like prime Volk,” he said.
“He could hardly throw a jab in the Yair [Rodriguez] fight because he had broken that bone in his elbow.
“Then came the difficult stretch with Islam and Topuria.
“After that it was about getting his head right as much as his body. Since the Diego fight his body is a lot better.
“Now he’s moving like old-time Volk. Prime Volk.”
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As for what comes next, Lopez confirmed the team had raised Volk’s proposed farewell showdown with Justin Gaethje with UFC bosses Dana White and Hunter Campbell.
His preferred scenario is a lightweight title fight, followed by both men retiring.
“A Gaethje-Volk winner takes all, and then they retire the next day,” Lopez said.
“That’d be an epic way to end it.”